Read Online Darkness of Light by Stacey Marie Brown - Free Book Online Page B

was something off the bottom of his shoe.
    “And what would that be?” He crossed his arms, as he looked down on me. “Please tell me it’s something like Tiffany or Brittany.” 
    “It’s Ember,” I said as heat filled my cheeks.
    “Ember.” He repeated my name and a slow smirk formed on his face. “Of course it is. Ember what?”
    “Brycin.”
    He looked at me patronizingly. “Well, Brycin, let’s see if you can handle a hammer or if I should find something easier for you to do.” 
    My eyes narrowed as we glared at each other. What was this guy’s problem? What had I ever done to him? The other students had stopped what they were doing, sensing the tension, and looked between us like it was a ping-pong match. I was waiting for someone to do a low whistle like you hear in all the standoff-scenes in the old cowboy movies. 
    I scooped up a hammer, gripping it tight in my hand, and stomped off towards the woodpiles. He scoffed in amusement as I walked away. I almost, almost , showed his face what I could do with a hammer, but I decided it might not help my case for getting out of here.
    “All right, everyone, get back to work,” he said, and stomped away.
     Josh leaned down and whispered in my ear, nodding towards Eli. “Okay, that was weird.”
    “Yeah.” It was the only response I could come up with as I grabbed a handful of nails, imagining it was Eli’s face I would be hammering them into. At that thought, a smile broke out over my face.
    The two hours went by fast. Our team got into a good rhythm. The only thing that bothered me was every time I looked up, Eli was staring at me, glaring actually. I tried to ignore him and concentrate on my work. My arms felt like they wanted to fall off, but I didn’t stop once. I didn’t want to show him any weakness or that he could get to me. 
    After we’d returned our tools to the shed, Josh and I headed back to Silverwood. He had a curious look on his face. “So Ember, what’s up with you and that guy Eli? You guys have some past history or something?” 
    “No, I never met him before.” That was technically true. “I don’t know what his problem is.” I didn’t feel like telling Josh about the police station incident, plus that didn’t even really count as having history with Eli, right?
    “Really? That’s strange. I thought I picked up on some vibe there.” His eyebrows furrowed, and he shrugged.
    “Nope, just some old-fashioned, predetermined dislike for me.” 
    Josh smirked, looking like he didn’t quite believe me. We got back to the main building, and Josh headed off for the dorm. He was one of the students who could no longer remain at home. “I’ll see you tomorrow. And welcome to Silverwood. I’m glad you’re here. You’re already making things a whole lot more interesting.” He gave a slight wave before disappearing down the hall.
    I smiled, shaking my head, and then headed in the opposite direction, towards the classroom. I was exhausted. With no homework yet, I decided to spend the time relaxing and drawing until Mark showed up. 
    As I walked into the main classroom, I stopped short. I instantly recognized Eli’s body from the back as he talked to Samantha.
    “What the hell was that earlier?” Samantha demanded.
    “Nothing you need to worry about, Sam,” he said tartly. 
    Her blue eyes looked up at him in longing. “You sure?”
    She was stunning, captivating, and beautifully feminine—everything a guy would want. Obviously, it was what Eli wanted. From the way she looked at him, there was no doubt she felt the same. They were beautiful together; they had that bad boy/good girl stereotype thing going on. My chest clenched as I watched them. Why did I have to notice every perfect detail of his body, especially his ass and strong broad shoulders? Fury stormed through me, but I turned it on myself. I shouldn’t be thinking this way about him. It was demented. He was scary and rude and clearly didn’t like me. That